Tag Archives: Traditions

All School Handshake

Text:

“Okay, so I went to a really small private high school and it was a really tight-knit community and to start the to, uh, kick off the school year, we’d have the all-school handshake. So we’d essentially all line up the student body, shoulder to shoulder, along the perimeter of the formal gardens, with the headmaster at one end. And then the headmaster and the entire school president would stand side by side and flip a coin. And if it was heads, they would go to the right, and if it was tails, they would go to the left, or whichever way.

Context:

This was a ritual the informant participated in every year at her small private boarding school in Illinois. The tradition is held at the beginning of each school year as a formal opening ceremony for the entire school. It’s set in the formal gardens, and the coin flip, she noted, decided which way the handshake procession would go, injecting an element of chance into what was otherwise a very ordered tradition.

Analysis
The all-school handshake is a ritual of initiation and collective renewal — a physical enactment of the social ties that constitute the school as a community. By having each member shake the hand of every other member, the tradition performs a kind of annual social contract; each participant touching every other participant materializes the school becoming a web of mutual relationships. The coin flip is especially interesting as a ritual element—it adds a moment of chance to an otherwise highly ordered event, reminding participants that the direction of the community is, in part, determined by forces beyond any individual’s control, and that all are equally subject to that uncertainty.

Quinceañeras

Age: 21

TEXT:

Informant- “I would say that one of the coming of age rituals that I have experienced with in my family is quinceañeras. So pretty much it’s once you turn 15, you get a coming of age party where you pretty much use a big old puffy dress and all your family and friends will be there to celebrate you finally being a woman. But I remember in my experience, I didn’t really have quinceañera, unfortunately, due to COVID, everything was closed down since the shutdown had just been two weeks beforehand. I just remember getting my quincea ring, because in my family, we always get rinks once you become 15, it’s just tradition and getting a big old ice cream cake. But my mom’s experience was very different from mine. Since she did have a quincea, it wasn’t extravagant, though. She had a nice, simple silk dress. It wasn’t the big old puffy dresses, and she had all her family there. But my aunt, though, on the other hand, she had a big old extravagant dress, it was pink and black, and she had a whole dance recital on a photo shoot and so on, which was really cool.”

CONTEXT:

This coming of age ritual is very common among Hispanic households across the globe. This tradition comes in the form of a large party thrown for the birthday girl on her 15th birthday in celebration of her new womanhood.

ANALYSIS:

From what the informant shared, I can see how no matter what kind of celebration is given to the birthday girl, though they are traditionally supposed to be very extravagant, the most important thing in my informant’s opinion is to share it with those who you are closest and to be able to symbolize the transition into womanhood with this rite of passage. A unique aspect of the informant experience that I hadn’t heard of prior to her explanation was the symbolic rings that the women in their family are given. I think this is a great signifier of womanhood as jewelry is traditionally used an heirloom that is passed down from generation to generation, and by having this physical reminder of the transition into the next step of life, you are reminded of your new status.

Cures for Colds

Age: 21

TEXT:

Do you have any cures for colds in your family?

Informant: “So when I get a cold, pretty much what we do first is my mom buys eucalyptus leaves and we take a real hot shower with them. Supposedly it’s to help open our lungs. Then my mom will buy some guavas, and it’ll make guava tea. She’ll put cinnamon on it and then once it’s done, we will put in a little help with some honey to help our sore throats and then pretty much just a bunch of rest. And then in our rooms, we will cut half an onion and it’s supposed to help kill the virus.”

CONTEXT:

The context behind these cures for colds, are traditions that the informant has learned from her family who grew up in Guatemala and things that she was raised with.

ANALYSIS:

Though some aspects of these crews for colds can’t technically be proven with science, such as cutting an onion in half to help kill the virus, the belief in the tradition of enacting leaves forms of folk medicine can often serve as a way just to make one feel better within their own mind and thus promote themselves to take better care of themselves to get better faster. Additionally, cures such as guava tea and eucalyptus showers have been specified by this family and culture making it specific to them and those in their community 

The Legend of Elmer (Pinecrest Lake)

Age: 38
Hometown: Menlo Park, CA
Location: Pinecrest, CA

Context:
Since the 1930s there has been a tradition to call out the name “Elmer” in the Pinecrest Lake/Camping ground. The real identity is debated with some thinking Elmer is a lost child, hiker, or even a bear. Although there is no confirmed missing persons case of someone named Elmer, the tradition continues through generations just like it has with my mom and our family.

Content:
Interviewer: “Can you tell me about the legend of Elmer you taught me when we went camping?”

Interviewee: “When we were kids my Dad used to take me and our family to Pinecrest, CA and there was legend of a lost boy from about 100 years ago. Every evening we would all shout out “Elmer!” And other campers from farther away would chime in, which made it such a fun tradition.

I always looked forward to doing it as a kid, which is why I continued the tradition with you.”

Analysis:
This example is a place-based legend that is sustained through participation in the tradition. The story of Elmer reflects characteristics of a legend because it is potentially true but doesn’t have any confirmed evidence. Its tie to a specific location also allows the story to gain meaning and the act of calling out the name transforms the story into a performance. This performance has created a sense of community among campers and residents of the area helping to pass down the tradition and legend through generations.

Pine Straw Necklaces

Age: 22

Context: My friend told me how her aunt taught her how to make necklaces out of pine straws.

Text:

“My aunt taught me how to make necklaces out of the pine straws from a pine tree. And then you just kind of loop it and then you make a loop kind of chain neecklace. It’s really cool.”

Analysis:

This was a very sweet interaction between family practices intertwined with nature. Although I’m not sure where her aunt learned to make the necklaces herself, I do find it interesting that she must have learned to make one as a child. Although this was a practice purely for aesthetic and fun, it’s sweet how sometimes even small things/gestures stick with us as children. Something as simple as tree straws being twisted into temporary jewelry stayed with my friend for years, showing its impact.